Here's the next part. It wasn't meant to be too intense, but my previous chapters have led up to this so...
Lambo didn't think he would die young.
Of course, there was a tendency to die young since he was in the line of mafia whatnot. But at least not this way. He thought he would die a more chivalric and honourable death with the covenant of the brotherhood (whatever the verbal vow was about), not being shot in the head by his fellow comrade. Well, the Varia being a comrade was a far cry, much less the man standing behind him.
But from the tales and the little fragments of blurry memories he could recall, they did help with crazy Byakuran and the even more crazy Bermuda, right? Right? Something screeched in his fuzzy mind.
Tsuna hiccupped once more and Lambo was brought back to the reality. In all honesty, he dared not move. His heart beating so hard he thought it might pop up of his chest.
Run! Run! Run! Instincts tore and screamed at him.
Because only Tsuna-Nii, the Acrobaleno, Byakuran and Enma (perhaps), maybe Hibari could only stop that man. And from the events that just conspired, Lambo was in a good mind to assume that most of them weren't exactly on their side.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Now." He growled, demanded, whatever. Either that, the leader of Varia did not sound the least bit human. Maybe, he sounded a bit like Bester's human form. He thought Bester might sound that way in human form.
"Well." Lambo swallowed the something invisible that was clogged in his throat for a while. He sounded weak. Yet if he raised his voice, he might hear it tremble. He really wanted to lie that the child wasn't in his arms. Although his currently crunched position and Tsuna's soft hiccups echoing in the near empty forest wasn't alleviating the situation.
"The Decimo, hand him over now. Trash."
He screamed mentally in protest.
Wait. Something echoed in the last sane part of his mind.
Sawada Tsunayoshi?
It took a few years and few close shaves with death (much to their discomfort) before Xanxus finally acknowledged Sawada Tsunayoshi as Decimo and not call him other degrading names for the matter. Lambo never knew much about the details since he was rarely included in all these 'grey areas', but it involved a lot of financial paper works and dead Mafia families. Tsuna-Nii had refused to disclose them to even Gokudera-shi and Yamamoto. Although, Lambo thought Mukuro might have an inkling of it. Then again, the Mist had always been a little suspicious to him.
Before Tsuna's Nii death, there's always the occasional 'beansprout' or 'shrimp' name-calling. But it had been more of (an according to Tsuna-Nii) a teasing jab.
Anyway, Sawada Tsunayoshi? He thought this secret was only disclosed to them (and it was just today!)
"Wait… how did you know that this is…"
However, before he could complete his sentence, Xanxus released his flames of hell once more. And Lambo was sent reeling into another part of the forest.
Yamamoto crashed into a nearby boulder. He didn't he would be losing against Squalo that badly. The sword feeling heavy and tumbling out of his hands. Even before the fight, Squalo did note his hallow eyes, the emptiness within them.
"Voi! If you have no soul, why are you holding the damn sword? You're not fucking worthy to even hold the sword then." The vice-leader of Varia had growled. "I don't want to fight you like this, but I've got orders to hack ya down."
Shigure Soen Ryu was a sword technique that was born with the mind, soul and body all in sync.
You cannot half-ass a sword technique as they always say. Why are you fighting then, warrior?
For. What.
It was then something black, green and a rush of orange obscured his vision. He couldn't comprehend whatever happened, but he felt something warm and light landing on his stomach whereas a huge crash occurred right beside him.
"Hic."
He looked down, slightly confused. Caramel brown eyes stared at him.
"Ah Tsuna…" Yamamoto blinked in suprise. Tsuna cooed and tugged on his tie affectionally.
"Mister… Fi…sh! Fwish." He laughed. "I fly!"
Oh, the sashimi. Yamamoto thought dully.
"You flew?" He asked, but it was more out of a reflex to reply, rather than a genuine question. Yamamoto felt his wounds aching more than ever. Soon Squalo would be charging towards his location. Kojiro could only conceal them with a mixture of rain and mist flames for only a little while more.
"Yamamoto-san?" Lambo groaned as he sat up. Dead leaves and small twigs trapped in his curly hair. "Ow… Xanxus really doesn't hold back. Though… I am surprisingly not that hurt?"
Xanxus? The leader of Varia behind them? Squalo was in front. It was the worst possible sandwich set from Varia.
"Lambo fly!" Tsuna then threw his arms out excitedly.
"Was Tsuna always so active when he was a child? Wasn't he more… shy?" Yamamoto said. He didn't even know why he asked that. It was as if he was trying to find an evidence to testify against him.
"Well, Nana had always told me Tsuna-Nii had been a happy child until his dad left." Lambo said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ah-"
"Anyway!" Lambo interrupted his thoughts. The usually laid back, reserved teenager suddenly burst in exclamation. "Xanxus knows this is Tsuni-Nii."
"What?" Yamamoto had not comprehended him. In fact, he hadn't been comprehending much since Tsuna died.
"He calls him Sawada Tsunayoshi, whereas… whereas Lal said something about Tsuna-Nii's child or something." Lambo quickly rambled. "It feels like there's a misunderstanding somewhere."
In the first place, they shouldn't even know of this child's existence, Yamamoto's mind helpfully offered. Reborn wouldn't just show this kid to Nono right off the bat. He heard a crash in the distance. An explosion on the other side. The toddler looked at him confused, he thought that the boy was probably thinking why Mr Fish wouldn't reply.
He really didn't want to think so much anymore. He was quite tired.
"Lambo, I want you to take Tsuna and run. Kojiro cannot shield us any longer-"
"Again? Run again? Why does every single one of you say that to me? Do I look like the man in charge of running?" He gritted his teeth. Sure, Lambo knew he always looked as if he wasn't half that motivated or that he seemed to bounce away from fights, but those days were really over. It was when he was fifteen, for Pete's sake. He wanted to stand among them as a true Guardian now and he really hated it when they had to put their lives on the line for him (a capable fighter) to do what, to run?
"No, but there's Tsuna." Yamamoto wasn't ready for some innocent kid to get involved in a fight.
"I've got a hunch they wouldn't touch him." Lambo said. "Come on, let's go."
Mukuro wasn't smiling, his fingers hovering above the keyboard. He had hacked the systems. What the hell had gone on in the Vongola's headquarters since their absence? It was only a week. Chrome gripped the trident tightly, her eyes shifting to him and to the ground, back and forth.
Did that Reborn know about this?
He thought it might be better to flee, although that damn skylark wouldn't head that option so easily.
"Chrome, you have the communicator?" He asked.
"Yes." She whispered softly. Mukuro's face contorted further when he heard the rush of footsteps outside the base. Some asshole must had dispelled the Mist flames barrier. Someone strong… Someone. It was either Fran or Mammon. In the more likely circumstance, it would be Fran accompanied with that murderous psychopath Belphegor, because Mammon wouldn't bother in trivial fights like these… unless the reward was beneficial to them.
The reward was quite the mouth-watering, Mukuro's fingers drummed on the desk.
He hoped the Shimon wouldn't involve themselves in the fight just yet. Especially the Shimon, Enma (the lovely powerful Capo of Shimon) who was visibly one of the most upset regarding Tsunayoshi's passing. If they teamed up with CEDEF and Varia, it would not be a fight they could walk over.
"Tell them." He swallowed. He knew from the core of his bones to every inch of his muscle that something was very, very wrong. "That we are branded traitors of the Vongola Family… involving in the murder of Sawada Tsunayoshi and the kidnapping of his child."
Chrome looked at him incredulously, before reluctantly moving the mouthpiece to her lips. She had wanted to say something, but she bit her lips instead.
Mukuro grunted. After this, he was going to kill that fucker who played some sort Mist flame illusions on the Family. He knew that whoever the scumbag was, they weren't going to go down easy. It would take someone ridiculously strong to cast that kind of illusion to manipulate their minds and senses to this degree. Maybe they had technology, like the Bovino, but even technology cannot accomplish this kind of feat unless if it was from Verde.
Last he heard, Verde was still on their side.
CEDEF and Varia were both affected… Mukuro narrowed his eyes.
Someone possibly as strong as, no stronger, than Reborn.
Lambo regretted staying on the battlefield. Even if it had been three minutes of false bravado, I-Pin or Futa might be proud of him. After all, he was facing Xanxus and Squalo. He glumly thought that he must had been some kind of lucky bastard, for he wasn't diced to tiny pieces or turn into a human roast stick yet.
He clutched to the toddler, deciding in the madness that turning tail and running the life out of him with an angry Xanxus in tow was the best option he could have. He thought Yamamoto would be trying to catch up behind, but the deafening explosion, the flashing colours of red and orange wrath flames blinding the sides of his vision, the singe on his skin and the smell of smouldering flames and ashes just forced a single thought of instinct, obscuring all thoughts.
Run.
When he felt a bullet tearing through his flesh and it burnt so bad, he couldn't help but trip over the roots. He fell over a ledge, crashing face first onto the undergrowth. His face was numbed and he couldn't whether his spilt lip, bruised cheek or possibly broken nose hurt more. He saw the Varia leader looming over him like death and raising his guns, preparing to shoot.
"Wait! Wait!" He wanted to scream, but the words came out as a pathetic choke instead. He saw the fingers pulling on the trigger and he shut his eyes and flipped his body to shield the little Tsuna. He thought he saw the flames coming, the scorching heat sizzling in its path.
Then, a rush of warm flames.
In his haze, he saw orange and gentleness and a familiar figure. A figure he had wanted to see so much…
"Tsuna-Nii…" He groaned.
"Hey Lambo. Thank you, I knew that I could always rely on you."
That voice… he would tear up if he would, but he had already faded to darkness.
